Sprayproof hover



. Dec. 23, 1941.

w. M. wlLLE-T ETAL A ricer/EY Patented Dec. 23, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT] ori-fics srRAYPRooF Hoveny William M. Willett, John B. Olson-ana] George T. Markey, Fort Atkinson, Wis., assignors to James Manufacturing Company, Fort Atkinson,V Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application August 16, 194o,-ser ia1 Nm3-52,876,

v 4 Claims.

The present invention lrelates to electrically heated hovers for brooding chicks and is particularly adapted foruse in what is commonlycalled battery brooders.

.In the present invention, it is customary to provide abrooder'of the type midway the inclosure, the brooder being usually suspended from the ceiling of each inclosure and held in a position which will giveplenty'of room for the chicks to gather under the brooder. y

The custom is tosupply the space under the brooder with enough heat for the chicks while they are resting. The space aroundV the brooder is.v large enough so theV chicks can exercise and passv into zones having a lower temperature suitable for drinking, eating and exercising. l

In battery brooders` of the class, particularly in large establishments, sanitary conditions are very important'y however in establishments of the kind, it would not be practical to scrub and clean every part of the brooder and hover as is possible when but few chicks are involved.

Recently it has been the custom of poultrymen to economically and quickly disinfect the equipment by spraying waterl which contains a suit able disinfectant over the equipment. n

In some broeders, the water spray method is successful but it has been found that it is" imprac'ztical for electrically heated hovers and since thehovers cannot easily be removed from the battery for separate treatment, there appears to be a demand for an electric hover which is spray proof. In fact; such a device should, of necessity, be practically water proof, thatA is, proof against injuryto the electric installation.

A hover, to be spray proof, must be prac'- tcally surrounded by sheet metal. Thereforein order to prevent excessiveloss of heat, the plate through which the heat is transferred downwardly into the 'space occupied by the birds cannot have metallic contact with the housing. We therefore provide simpleand novel means whereby the heat transfer plate is electrically insulated and heat transfer insulated from the housing.

We provide novel means-'for insulating and water proofing the cable from the metal end of the hover, through which the cable extends.

An important feature of the present inven-v tion is the mass of insulating material provided between the electric heating pad and the top of the hover and the form of the hover whereby the 4cheapest insulating material may be used as a filler.

To these and other useful ends, our invention consists of parts, combinations of parts, or their 55 equivalents, fasv hereinafter's'et forth vand claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 isa top view of my improved hover. Fig. 2"is` an 'e`r'icl'v'iew'oi'v the hover as shown in Figurer Fig'. 3 s`y a Sectional View illustrating the Inandownwardly laslat II"-II" forming depending" ang'es `vI2'-I"f2 which are bent inwardly as at I.3-I3fo'rrning' narrow yhorizontal anges I 4K-I 4. We provide' 'WOOd Strips -I'5-I'5- and 'I6-I5 formingv arectangular irame'wh'ich is tightly'y bers` I2 and I4-and the narrow The ends of thehoverare formed by' means of metal strips I8-QI8, these stripsat their bottoms, are f ormedsimilar tomembers I2, I4 and I1, so members I6 are embracedsimilar to member I5.

Members I8, and their lower portions, are'suitably bonded'to niembe'rsfl, I 2, I4 and I"I, 'so as to form a water tight inclosure for the frame. Frame-members I5 and |56 aregrooved as at 20 aroundthe entire inner surfaceA of the frame, into which ametal heat transfer plate 2| is positioned, as illustrated-inrFigure 4.

Platel 2|, it will b'e noted, is- -pos'itioned a short distance from "the inner edges of members I1. Thus-this plate is separated fromanges II by a narrow heat `and"electrical insulatingv space. Thereforeftlie entir 'interior' o fthe hover is-spray Y -ris'ferf plate of the hover is electrically and-hatinslated'frm the remainder of the hoveri v 'we provide, pren-freely, what is Commonly called afnanket @metriche-ating pad 25; This member lies un member/ZI;- and practically lls'` the' space within the frame.

We position preferably an insulating board 26, which lies on member 25. This member is adapted to t snugly within the frame formed by members I5 land I6. Thus members I0, I2, I4, I'I, and 2I, cooperating with the frame and member 26, form a rigid, strong but light structure and the heating element is close to a metal plate, through which the heat is transferred downwardly.

Clearly, under somecircumstances, member 26V may be dispensed with and cleats used instead, as will hereinafter appear. We preferably ll the space under member I with heat insulating material 21 which may be either wood shavings or any other material suitable for the purpose.

We make a connection from the heating pad to the exterior of the brooder by means of a cable 29 and make the opening in plate I8 through which this cable passes water tight as follows:

Opening 30, in member IB, is somewhat larger than the cable. We provide preferably a rubber washer 3| which forms a snug flt around the cable and in opening 30. A plate 32, having an opening slightly larger than the cable-is secured to plate I8 by means of screws 33-33.

A rubber sleeve 34 is positioned between washer 3| and plate 32, thus, by tightening screws 33, member 34 will be caused to tightly hug the cable and member 3l. formed between the cable and member I8.

In devices of the kind, it isV customaryrto support them from the ceiling of the inclosure'.v For,

this purpose, we Iprovide preferably four clips 354 to which thesupporting cables may be attached. The general practice istorun these cables around pulleys and fasten the cables together a distance from each pair of pulleys :and extend this fastening throughrthe ends of the battery `by means of a chain which extends through key-ways so the operator can disengage the chain and raise either end of the hover at will. essential because it is frequently necessary to raise the hover` at one end or the other,-so as to give the operator a full view of the chicks under the hover. l y

In Figure 5, we illustrate a modification wherein a wood frame is formed by means of.' side and end `wood bars 36 and 31 similar to the frame formed by members I and I6. `A metal-frame, having side plates 38 Vfits aroundthis frame and is folded, the lower edge being bent inwardly as at 39 and then upwardly as at 40, the upwardly extending edge being folded double, as in Figure 4. Members 36 and 31 are grooved as at 4I, for the reception ofthe heat transfer plate 42, this plate being similar to member 2I in Figure 4. An electric heating blanket 4 3 is provided which is similar to blanket 25. i v

Blanket 43 is placed on top of -member 42 and cleats 44 are secured to members 36 and 31. Cleats 44 take the place of member 26 in Figure 4. After this structure is completedthe insulating material 45 is packed inthe inclosure formed by members 36, 31, 38, and 43. Member 38 is flanged inwardly and cover plate 46, having a ange 41, is pressed over the assembly and secured thereto by means of a number of bolts 48. It will be seen that we have provided a very simple, light,v strong, well insulated, efficient and spray proof hover, the preferred form of which is provided with a gable roof, soy the chicks will not be able to congregate or roost thereon. Clearly many minorv de tail changes may be made without departingv from the spiritand scope of the present invention as recited in the appended claims. v vvThis convenience is Havingthus shown and described our invention, we claim:

1. A hover of the class described, comprising a frame, a metal panel, said frame consisting of heat and electric insulating material and having a groove on the inner side thereof for the reception of said panel, an velectric heating pad positioncd on said panel and a heat insulating panel Thus a water tight. jointis l. 20

positioned on said pad, and a metal inclosure, the bottom being adapted to embrace the outside and bottom of said frame, the edge being folded upwardly against the inside of the frame but terminating a short distance from said metal panel, the ends of said inclosure extending upwardly and the sides extending upwardly and inwardly forming a gable roof, the space under said roof being lled with loose insulating material.

- 2. A hover of the class described, comprising a frame, a metal panel, said frame consisting of heat and electric insulating material and having a groove `on the inner side thereof for the reception ,of said panel, an electric heating padpositioned on said panel, means secured to said frame adapted to hold said pad againstsaid panel, anda metal inclosure,theV bottom 'being adapted to embrace the ,outside'andbottom of said frame, the edgef being folded upwardly against the inside of the/frame but terminating a short distance from said panel', the ends of said inclosure extending upwardly and the sides extending inwardly and upwardly, formingfa gable roof, the space under said roof ybeing lled with loose insulating material. i, Y 3. A hover of the class described, comprising a frame, a metal panel, said frame consisting of a heat and electric insulating material.v and having a groove on the inner side thereof vfor the reception of said panel, an electric heating1 pad positioned on said panel, and a metal in-' closure, the bottom being adapted to embrace the outside and bottom of-said frame, the inner edge being folded upwardly against the inside of the frame but terminating a short distance from said panel, said inclosure extendingfa distance above said frame forming a chamber above said heating pad and being filled with insulating material. .Y Y f 4. A hover of the class described, comprising a frame, a metal panel, said frame-consisting of heat and electric insulating material and having a groove on the inner side thereof for the recep Y tion of said panel, an electric heating resister poclosure being adapted to surround and cover saidr insulating member.

wrrmAM M. wILLE'rrT. v

JOHN B. oLsoN. GEORGE T. MARKEY. 

